THE RIVERS – Part 6 – Gihon, Ethiopia, Zipporah, Zerah, Ebedmelech, and the Unnamed Eunuch –

THE RIVERS
Part 6

THE SECOND RIVER GIHON and ETHIOPIA
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)

INTRODUCTION

Words of wisdom: don’t panic. Read the previous article. If you refuse to read the previous article, then PANIC because you will be completely in the dark and KNOW NOTHING about the second river called Gihon or Genesis 2:13. Sometimes I have to cheat a bit to help readers who have difficulty with reading background or research material, or EVEN to follow directions. The following sets the theme of A RIVER, and the theme of the RIVERS in Genesis 2:10 thru 2:14.
This is where we began in our study of The River. For babies, this section of the first book of Genesis is about the creation by God and all about Adam. For children, from Genesis 2:10 to 2:14 is about God’s foreknowledge and His prepping readers of the future vested in Adam and his descendants. For mature Christians, I haven’t a clue to what God has in store for you at this point in these articles. Know this, the Spirit of God, never has left the seekers of truth without TRUTH. That is why the word of God, Scripture, is such an adventurous journey. Never fear what lies outside of our understanding because truthfully the WORD of God, The Living Word of God is outside of ALL human understanding. Since the written word of God, Scripture, is the reflection of the GLORY that is within The Living Word of God, Christians should anxiously wait on the Spirit of God to lead.

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Our Current STUDY Section
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)
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And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. (Genesis 2:14)

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Gihon Compassing Whole Land of Ethiopia
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)

If you have read the previous articles, then you would remember what Gihon means. Gihon means ‘the breaking forth,’ and/or ‘a fountain;’ and through the six mentions of Gihon in Scripture there are three kings of Israel connected or associated with Gihon. Solomon in 1st Kings Chapter 1:33, 38 and verse 45. Hezekiah in 2nd Chronicles 32:30, and Manasseh in 2nd Chronicles 33:14.
1. And the name of the second river [is] Gihon: the same [is] it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)
2. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: (1st Kings 1:33)
3. So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. (1st Kings 1:38)
4. And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This [is] the noise that ye have heard. (1st Kings 1:45)
5. This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. (2nd Chronicles 32:30)
6. Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. (2nd Chronicles 33:14)
What is in the second portion of the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia in Genesis 2:13. I’ll give you a hint. EVIL. How do I know? Easy, the number 13 provides a clue. CLICK HERE for more about the number 13 and CLICK HERE for more.

The meaning of Ethiopia connects to Ham, the man of the curse. Ethiopia means blackness, or/and terror. As Gihon has a dual meaning of ‘the breaking forth,’ and/or ‘a fountain;‘ thus, showing a fracturing away from God and a fountain flowing with the grace of God, so Ethiopia is also connected with being away from God and also being the recipient of God’s grace.
The numbers that contain the unseen also speaks of God’s mind concerning man’s judgment and God’s grace. Ethiopia is mentioned 19 times in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament, for a total of 20 mentions. Interesting. The number nineteen is one number short of twenty and one number more than eighteen. This number nineteen represents God’s perfect order of Judgment.
Eighteen is three times the number 6 (3 x 6=18) . . . and six is the number of the man, and The Beast that is to come is 6 – 6 – 6, the trinity of evil, the trinity of man’s wickedness. Eighteen is the number of judgment tied to man AND to The Beast. We cannot ignore numbers. The number twenty is the number of anticipation. Jacob waited 20 years anticipating his bride. Israel waited 20 years for deliverance. And again, they waited 20 years for their deliverance by Samson. The Ark of the covenant waited 20 years in Kirjathjearim. Solomon waited 20 years for the completion of the building of two houses. Therefore, Ethiopia sits between judgment and anticipation of God’s deliverance. Ethiopia of the past also sits in judgment waiting for God’s future deliverance. For those who do not pay attention to history or to what is happening in current events, Scripture is where it all comes together. It is NOT in what you listen to on so called News channels. It is NOT in the speeches and words of the no nothings of so called Heads of State from powerless countries pretending that they are relevant IN the world and TO the world. Silly men and women pushing against each other to appear on the stage as important people among other unimportant people. They are NOTHING. They speak words of NOTHINGNESS. They cannot hear their own words of nothingness. It is more than fitting that the Holy Spirit tags Ethiopia with the number nineteen in the Old Testament and then in the New Testament adds ONE number and fulfills its destiny and its anticipation of its destiny in the number twenty. So sorry, if some of you may have become lost in the digits of spiritual numbers. But that is part of spiritual growth.

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. (Isaiah 28:9)
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: (Isaiah 28:10)
For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. (Isaiah 28:11)
To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. (Isaiah 28:12)
But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. (Isaiah 28:13)

God the Holy Spirit has written using not only words, but numbers and placement and much more within the SEEN and the UNSEEN world of His Holy realm.

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ETHIOPIA in SCRIPTURE

Let us follow Ethiopia through Scripture. The first mention of Ethiopia occurs, of course, in our study verse. And the name of the second river [is] Gihon: the same [is] it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13) In Scripture, there is only one king of Ethiopia that is documented, that was Tirhakah king of Ethiopia.

● And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, (2nd Kings 19:9)
● And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard [it], he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, (2nd Kings 37:9)

The secular history of Ethiopia is not only massive in achievements, but it is also the first nation/country mentioned in Scripture. The first land mentioned is Havilah, and through the meaning of Havilah it represents the condition of the world, the earth under sin. CLICK HERE for more about Havilah. Ethiopia was a NATION, an ANCIENT nation of great importance. That should tell us something about mankind. Imagine, this little known or little appreciated nation was mentioned in Scripture in the 2nd Chapter of the first book of Genesis. OK! Now for those of you who have maps or even a globe, find Ethiopia!
(If there is anyone from Ethiopia reading this article, do NOT click away, for there is something GOOD that awaits Ethiopia, but it is yet FAR AWAY in the future waiting in the shadows of the wings of the Almighty God. DO NOT FEAR. DO NOT reject what God has waiting for the nation of Ethiopia. The world may think little of Ethiopia, BUT GOD placed Ethiopia in the FOREFRONT of HIS WORD for a REASON. Stay with me!)
Although, at this time in our current news cycle, Ethiopia has been in the forefront of NEWS almost every day, and almost every second because of the Iranian conflict and the Strait of Hormuz. (Correction: It is in the news ONLY when the Communist/Democrat news propagandists have run out of important lies to report.) The borders and boundaries of this Ethiopia have changed, of course, through millenniums, but in essence it has remained contained by its enemies. Think along these lines, What is so important about Ethiopia that God placed it as the FIRST nation that He mentioned in Scripture?
Notice how the Holy Spirit presents three territories: the whole land of Havilah, the whole land of Ethiopia, and the east of Assyria. The great nation of Egypt was not mentioned until Abram. Babel and Shinar were not mentioned until Genesis 10. Even Mesopotamia was not mentioned until Abram. Yet, here is this nation of Ethiopia mentioned in the 2nd Chapter of the book of Genesis.
Now back to Tirhakah king of Ethiopia. Tirhakah means exalted, and/or he searched out the pious, and he searched out the waiter. Also Tirhakah is also noted as ‘a king of Kush’ (Cush). Interesting that there is only one king mentioned of Ethiopia and his name is from a triple root. The root being Kush also known as Cush. Triple root is important!

● And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. (Genesis 10:6)
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. (Genesis 10:7)
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. (Genesis 10:8)

He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. (Genesis 10:9)
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:10)
● And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (Isaiah 11:11)

In Ham there is the lineage of Cush that leads to Nimrod, that leads to ALL rebels against God. From Ham, to Cush, to Nimrod, to Babel, to Babylon, to The Beast of the unholy trinity . . . Ethiopia becomes the prophetic fulfillment of a land united against ALL that is good and holy. Ethiopia (blackness/terror) is not only about a specific race, it is about the blackness of the heart of man, it is about man EXALTING himself above ALL that is good and holy and by man’s worship of himself he then becomes a terror to others. Remember that Gihon has a dual meaning, ‘the breaking forth,’ and/or ‘a fountain.’ God is the Fountain that unites a fractured heart, a fractured nation and a fractured world. Through the triple meaning of the first king of Ethiopia (Tirhakah) documented in Scripture we see exalted, and/or he searched out the pious, he searched out the waiter.

Tirhakah’s character discloses the heart of a rebel. We are familiar with Ham, Cush, Nimrod, and The Beast who is the last of the line of Ham, and the last of the line of Satan, but many Christians and students of Scripture know nothing about Tirhakah and almost nothing about Ethiopia and its role throughout the history of the East. God has given Genesis 2:13 for a reason, And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
Scripture is full of information about Ethiopia. However, from nineteen mentions in the Old Testament let us consider just a few verses. God the Holy Spirit actively provides immense spiritual depth through what first appears to be a small detail . . . the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. A river, compasseth, contains, wraps, affects, surrounds, captivates, controls the whole land of Ethiopia. Ethiopia and A RIVER . . . Ethiopia and RIVERS. Ethiopia is closely connected and linked to not only Egypt but to flowing WATERS. Twice the phrase beyond the rivers of Ethiopia is documented.

● Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which [is] beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: (Isaiah 18:1)
● From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, [even] the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. (Zephaniah 3:10)

The source and headwaters of the rivers of Ethiopia flow northward from the Nile River that began its journey northward from the Rwanda/Burundi area into the highlands of Ethiopia flowing into nine tributaries throughout the land of Ethiopia. The number NINE is very significant since nine is the number of FINALITY in JUDGMENT; that ALL things have been JUDGED and FINISHED. This nation (Ethiopia) is also called ‘the water tower of Eastern Africa.’ You may be thinking, So what? Do you know that even before Egypt became a nation that there was a major conflict between the tribes living in the area of Egypt and the nation of Ethiopia over water rights? Ethiopia is also historically known as Abyssinia and also known as the land of Cush. Egypt is at the northern point of the Nile and Ethiopia lies at the southern point of the Nile. I am merely dropping some little known facts about this ancient territory/nation that God considered extremely important in Genesis 2:13. The Nile River is closely related to all the peoples, and nations and cultures that have survived along the longest river in the world. The Nile River is 4,132 miles long from its origin in the East African Plateau in Rwanda/Burundi south of Ethiopia and is joined together to the Nile’s second source from Lake Tana in Ethiopia and from there it again joins the Arbara River (the third source of the Nile River) from the Ethiopian Highlands. The origin and source of the Nile River is a complex undertaking for many past Nile River explorers such as Dr. David Livingston and Henry Morgan Stanley, and current Nile River historians. But Scripture through the Holy Spirit of God is able to simply put it all together through one verse. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)
It is no wonder that Ethiopia is joined with and to the longest river in the world. But by looking through the looking glass of biblical history, the Holy Spirit of God, united the second river Gihon to the headwaters of the Nile, called the White Nile, and then to another major tributary from the land of Ethiopia called the Blue Nile, and both rivers together unite to form what is called the Black Nile or the Red Nile, and after hundreds of miles, this mysterious river of renown, finally drains into the salty Mediterranean Sea laden and weighed down with the rich black mud silt from the land of Ethiopia (the land of blackness and darkness). There is a spiritual lesson and message in this longest river in the world that connects to another LONG river called SIN. We are now again juggling a few balls in the air; the whole land of Ethiopia, the second river Gihon, and the RIVERS of Ethiopia. Keep the RIVERS of Ethiopia in your memory bank. It is NOT river (singular) it is plural (RIVERS) and its source is from THREE different rivers. WHY? Now keep the ball labeled THREE RIVERS in the air while you smoothly juggle the balls that I am tossing to you.
Ethiopia has been landlocked since 1993. So, you see that before 1993 it had an active role historically, militarily, agriculturally on the Horn of Africa and as a major seaport of great consequences on the Red Sea. It is one of the oldest organized kingdoms/NATIONS in the history of mankind. Biblically, historically and culturally Ethiopia has Semitic (Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Amharic) and Cushite roots. Why these roots? Consider Ezekiel 30:5, Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. That is what Cush, through Ham, was quite successful in accomplishing mixing and mingling with peoples and nations. Do not think that these far away places in millenniums past have NOTHING to offer the student of truth. Again, I will repeat, What is so important about Ethiopia that God placed it as the FIRST nation that He mentioned in Scripture? And again, there is a difference between territory and a nation. Havilah was a territory. Ethiopia was/is a nation. A nation is organized rule from a central location, therefore, the FIRST mention of Ethiopia sets up the concept of a KINGDOM (a King), a NATION, a UNIFIED power structure with a leader, a head, a central figure with governmental authority.
Although Babel is considered to be one of the five major cities of Nimrod in his quest for world domination centralized in the territory of Babylon, and that statement is biblically correct; however, the Holy Spirit of God through Genesis 2:13, And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia, ADDS more to the spiritual side of Babel and Babylon BEFORE Babel and Babylon were born from the loins of Nimrod. Through Genesis 2:13 we have one of three roots of mankind: HAM. Nimrod, son of Cush and grandson of Ham, drove eastward towards the rising sun spreading evil wherever Nimrod and his armies tread and whomever they conquered. While Nimrod’s father, CUSH, another bloody savage root from Ham, drove southward into the lands of blackness, deep into the dark jungles shadowed by the wings of death, and death followed wherever Cush settled and whomever he overcame. The first root that was cursed came within the blood line of bloody Ham. Ham, Cush and Nimrod unleashed on the eastern world and on the world southward destruction so great that those areas have totally never recovered from those hunter’s of the souls of men. That was the beginning of Satan’s active take over of the peoples/ and territories, and organized national formation of peoples. The world was laid open as a gaping wound where evil spread as a blood disease.

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. (Genesis 10:1)
And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. (Genesis 10:6)
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. (Genesis 10:7)
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. (Genesis 10:8)
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. (Genesis 10:9)
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:10)
Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, (Genesis 10:11)
And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. (Genesis 10:12)
And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, (Genesis 10:13)
And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. (Genesis 10:14)

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ETHIOPIA
FORMED by the Spirit of CUSH
and from a people terrible from their beginning (Isaiah 18:7)

In our Age of the Celebration of Insanity, amalgamation is praised. Yet, mixing and mingling is a BAD THING, not a good thing. It destroys unity. It weakens a people and a nation militarily and socially. Ezekiel 30:9 discloses a CARELESS people, In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. The Ethiopians in that time period of Ezekiel 30:9 were mindless and indifferent to their position and place in the affairs of the world around them. The daily search for survival made them fearful. Pride made them open to carelessness. And great suffering made them victims to their conquerors.
This characteristic of ancient Ethiopia is the same characteristic that has swallowed up countless nations prior, since and during Ethiopia’s false sense of pride. Americans carry the same damaged D.N.A., careless in actions, careless in mixing and mingling with peoples of different minds, hearts and spirits. In fact, let me add, it is NOT only Americans who have this damaged D.N.A. This is a fault among ALL of humanity.
God the Holy Spirit did not disclose Egypt to the reader in Genesis 2:13, but HE purposefully set Ethiopia in the forefront because not only is this land ancient, but it can also be considered almost timeless. As dateless as Ham, as ancient as Cush (terror and blackness), as timeless as Nimrod, and prophetically beyond the Babylonian winds of age. Ethiopia at its awakening by the peoples of Cush began an national organization based on sameness. Same skin, same language, same blackness, same terror, same warlike hearts, same desire to hunt for men, same need to exalt themselves above all others, same appetite for blood, and same lust for world dominance. The peoples of Ethiopia took on the same characteristics as their conquerors: the Cushites. Cush means terror and blackness.
Am I picking on poor Ethiopia? Ethiopia is not alone; it is the FIRST known nation mentioned in Scripture! WHY? Havilah was a territory, but Ethiopia became a specific nation with a specific framework centered around WAR. WHY?
In Ezekiel 38:5 we see the warlike characteristics in shield and helmet. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet. In Nahum 3:9 during the age of the Assyrian Age, Nineveh was militarily strengthened by Ethiopia and Egypt. Ethiopia and Egypt [were] her strength, and [it was] infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers. Eight times Egypt and Ethiopia are documented allies together in Scripture. (Psalm 68:3; Isaiah 20:3, 5; 43:3; 45:14; Ezekiel 29:10, 30:4, Naham 3:9) Scripture clearly states that God is AGAINST not only Egypt, but notice what the Spirit of God adds to God’s rejection, Behold, therefore I [am] against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste [and] desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. (Ezekiel 29:10) The rivers of Ethiopia that flowed into the land of Egypt was noted by God as I [am] against thee, and against thy rivers.
As God offered the Living Waters of the RIVER of HIMSELF to the world to cleanse mankind from sin and death, so mankind also used the rivers of himself to exalt himself among others of like mind, heart and soul. Spiritually and symbolically the Nile River is Gihon, thus representing all of humanity blackened with the savage soul of the first murderer, the first giant (in the line of Cain) flooding the world with sin and death. As God flooded the world of Noah to cleanse the ground from its putrid sins and through the judgment of water the world began anew with THREE streams of life through Ham, Shem and Japheth, so from one of these three streams came not only a rebel, but a revengeful rebel. Ham, and his son Cush, and his son Nimrod not only terrorized the world with war, but Cush used water to build another world on SIN and DEATH. As the first world was removed by a flood by God because of sin; Ham and Cush built their new world around the longest river in the world to spread more SIN and more DEATH. God used a universal flood of water to destroy sin, Cush used the longest river in the world to increase sin.
Ethiopia symbolized the blackness of the soul of man. The first king of Ethiopia mentioned, Tirhakah, (exalted, and/or he searched out the pious, he searched out the waiter) symbolized the pride of exaltation, and the heart of a hunter, (as Nimrod was a hunter) searching and hunting out the pious, and hunting for those who waited on God, and God alone. Therefore, through Tirhakah’s name, we have both the pride of unrepentant man and his hatred against the pious (The Holy One) and against those who Wait on the Lord. Not only do names and numbers play an important role in Scripture, but the MEANING of names and the MEANING of numbers also are used by the Spirit of God in progressive revelation.
The spirit of Cush is the spirit of DARKNESS and TERROR. The first principal in the first book of the Bible is the principal of separation from DARKNESS.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:4)
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:5)

There are two different divisions in this section of Scripture. First came the SPIRITUAL separation of DARKNESS from LIGHT when darkness was upon the face of the deep and the earth was without form, and void. At that point when DARKNESS was upon the face of the deep, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Do you see the separation? Do you see two different FACES, two different forms of presence, two different forms of energy, two different worlds, two different power structures? There was the face of the deep . . . darkness and judgment by the prince of darkness, and there was the Spirit of God MOVING upon the waters, moving waters, living waters, rivers of water of LIFE.

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BEYOND the RIVERS of ETHIOPIA

Now, back to beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Twice the phrase beyond the rivers of Ethiopia is documented.

The land which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia God clearly states WOE. Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which [is] beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. (Isaiah 18:1) Look to the lands beyond the rivers of Ethiopia and what nations do you see? Beyond the rivers of Ethiopia are the territories to its NORTH. Since the Nile River flows from south to north, the Nile flows through Ethiopia from south to north and also from west to east and east to west. Many WOES have been forced on the peoples of this region because of its own warlike blackness of heart from its very beginning that was ROOTED in one of the three sons of Noah: Cush through Ham. Also consider that the name of Ethiopia is rooted on its very soil. Ethiopia was built on BLACKNESS, not only through the meaning of the names, but the color of the sediments that is carried by the Nile River itself is as the color of black. The blackness of the Nile mud also adds to the dark soul of all that the rivers of Ethiopia touches. The Nile River is marked by colors: the White Nile, the Blue Nile, the Black or Red Nile. Every thing about this second territory mentioned in Genesis Chapter 2 uncovers another form of blackness, another form of a darkened spirit, and another form of a dreaded warrior nation drenched with sin and blood. The Nile River encompasses, surrounds, this nation of Ethiopia. Currently many nations receive its only source of energy from Ethiopia. AND Egypt specifically has together with Chinese funding and Ethiopian primary assistance just inaugurated on September 2025 the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile which was the largest hydroelectric project in Africa. This is NO SMALL accomplishment. Egypt, Sudan, China and Ethiopia are united around this massive energy program helping to supply not only Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia with water but also neighbor nations as Kenya, Djibouti, and Tanzania with water. AAH . . . WATER, living water, man’s very physical existence depends on WATER. Here we are in 2026 discussing WATER and Ethiopia. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13) Gihon, that which divides and fractures and that which provides the mercy of God is seen in the waters that surrounds Ethiopia.
Even into our age, can you not see the power within the waters (the Nile River) that surrounds and compasses and captivates the whole land of Ethiopia. Two great power houses (Egypt and China) through the waters that surround Ethiopia CONTROLS Ethiopia. In one sense, the waters provide life and in another sense the powers that control the waters provide life. Contemporary Ethiopia is still under the course of its waters, Ethiopia does not control the river that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia, but the rivers control Ethiopia. GOD HAS HIS RIVER, but Lucifer/Satan also has his RIVERS. The longest river in the world gives life to those who surrender themselves to the Black River/Red River. Are you beginning to see the spiritual message of Gihon? Are you beginning to see the spiritual message of Ethiopia by the Spirit of God? The Gihon that divides, that fractures, that breaks apart with SIN and DEATH flow as NINE black and dark tributaries spreading evil, iniquity and judgment into the world via the longest river in the world. Are you beginning to see how the Spirit of God uses the natural things of the world to disclose the spiritual things of God? The Bible is a SPIRITUAL BOOK. It has a bit of history, a bit of poetry, a bit of songs, but IT IS A SPIRITUAL BOOK about a Supernatural Spiritual Sovereign God with a massive plan to redeem mankind. The spiritual came first, then the natural. When the Holy Spirit presents the natural world it is with the understanding that before the natural world there is a spiritual world. Consequently, we MUST see the spiritual first in order to understand the natural. It is through the lens of the spiritual that God presents the whole land of Ethiopia to the seeker of truth.

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Double WOE and DARKENED SOULS flow from the RIVERS
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)

Ethiopia was chosen by the Holy Spirit of God to enforce the message of Gihon as an element of division. Thus, through Gihon encompassing the whole land of Ethiopia we have another form of division, a double division, a double fracturing of peoples and nations.
The double WOE comes through Isaiah Chapter 17 and Chapter 18. God the Holy Spirit spiritually links the WOES, and the WATERS that spread uncontrollable evil as uncontrollable mighty waters that sweep many people away into more evil and into more sin. Notice: Chapter 17 of the book of Isaiah begins with the burden of Damascus, (The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.) then at verse 12 there is a break and we see a WOE to the multitude of many people.

Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! (Isaiah 17:12)
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. (Isaiah 17:13)
And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. (Isaiah 17:14)

Chapter 18 begins with another WOE. But this is to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. As the burden of Damascus became a ruinous heap, think what the first and second WOE will become. It is also fitting that Ethiopia is linked to the 18th Chapter of Isaiah. I dare you to CLICK HERE for more about the number 18. This 18th Chapter is not only about JUDGMENT, but it also connects to Gihon as ‘a fountain.’ The Holy Spirit delights in theme building, and in precise wordsmithing. Notice that in this Chapter of JUDGMENT there are only SEVEN verses . . . hint, hint.

Let us proceed. CLICK HERE for more about WOE. Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: (Isaiah 18:1) The subject is set: Ethiopia. The spiritual territory is named: the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. The land north of Ethiopia is a land shadowing with wings. The nation that we currently identify as north of Ethiopia is Sudan, however, biblical history places this area as the nation of Chub or the area of the Nubians. The Holy Spirit calls this land as a land shadowing with wings. Why? The wings of a bird that flies away, and leaves only the shadow of itself in its wake. How fitting that this land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia leaves only a shadow of its past self to be remembered. Whether called Chub, or Nubia or Sudan, its founding father was CUSH, and his founding father was HAM and his founding father was Satan.
Notice some links to Egypt in verse 2. Also do not forget this description: the land shadowing with wings. There have been scores of different wings soaring over the land of WOE. Isaiah 8:2 ties Egypt to this land of WOE on the banks of this great land spoiled by the RIVERS (the three sourced river called the Nile.) The vessels of bulrushes reminds of us a past ark of a vessel made of bulrushes. The Holy Spirit does all the connecting for us . . . the word bulrushes is only documented twice in Scripture. The first mention is located in Exodus 2:3 regarding the child Moses in Egypt. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid [it] in the flags by the river’s brink.
The second mention is, of course in Isaiah 18:2. That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! Read the following verses, BUT notice verse 7 and how the Holy Spirit describes not only the nation of Egypt, but a PEOPLE terrible from their beginning hitherto.

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. (Isaiah 18:3)
For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. (Isaiah 18:4)
For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. (Isaiah 18:5)
They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. (Isaiah 18:6)
In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion. (Isaiah 18:7)

This last verse in the 18th Chapter of the book of Isaiah ends with the number SEVEN. In the number eighteen there is the JUDGMENT of SIN and in the number SEVEN there is number of God’s COMPLETE PERFECTION. Here is another proof that man alone could not have written such an intricate tapestry woven with the words of grace and truth to reveal the majesty and sovereignty of the Almighty God.
In verse 2 we have to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! and in verse 7 we have of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, a people terrible from their beginning. We have a NATION scattered and peeled, a PEOPLE TERRIBLE from their beginning . . . scattered and peeled, stripped, naked, and exposed. Then we have a nation METED OUT AND TRODDEN UNDER FOOT. Notice the grammatical break between A PEOPLE scatterer and peeled and terrible from the beginning . . . then we have A NATION meted out and trodden under foot. It was THE RIVERS (the three sourced Nile River) that spoiled first the land of the nation and that also spoiled the PEOPLE.
This phrase a people terrible from their beginning is documented only TWICE in Scripture. Also this phrase whose land the rivers have spoiled is also documented TWICE in Scripture. A PEOPLE TERRIBLE FROM THE BEGINNING, who are these TERRIBLE PEOPLE from the beginning? These terrible people from the beginning were CUSH, and his father HAM. Ham is one of the three streams of mankind. Every person on planet Earth has descended from one of these three men: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. (Genesis 10:1) God has already set your birth from one of these three individuals, unlike those who declare that you are ASSIGNED your sex by your mother, your teacher, your therapist, or that you yourself can ASSIGN or REASSIGN your sex according to your emotions or your favorite cartoon character. GOD KNEW YOU BEFORE YOU WERE BORN! Many may assume to be of Shem, but GOD KNOWS. Many assume to be from the line of Japheth, but GOD KNOWS. The ONLY BLOOD LINE that is important, and that is TRUE is the blood line of Christ. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)

—–◆—–
ETHIOPIANS
DOCUMENTED in SCRIPTURE
– Zipporah – Zerah – Ebedmelech – An Unnamed Eunuch of Great Authority-

There are four individuals documented in Scripture who were Ethiopians. Why did the Holy Spirit of God select these particular four people? Four, of course, is the number of the world. Ethiopia was deliberately mentioned first in Scripture to describe what was within the heart of one of the sons of Noah. Deep within Ham’s twisted and stained soul lay the hidden iniquitous pride of Lucifer, the anointed cherub. Do not lose sight of why the Holy Spirit set these FIVE verses into the creation scene!

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. (Genesis 2:10)
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; (Genesis 2:11)
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. (Genesis 2:12)
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. (Genesis 2:13)
And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. (Genesis 2:14)

It is the history of the development of SIN! Even BEFORE God placed ADAM into the garden, God disclosed what was about to transpire through the first created man on earth. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. (Genesis 2:10)(I sometimes find it necessary to repeat basic concepts.) Everything after and became into four heads is about SIN and how it developed. Everything AFTER and became into four heads is about how SIN advanced. Everything AFTER and became into four heads is about the FOUR HEADS of power that will take over the world. God the Holy Spirit first presents FOUR HEADS then symbolically moves from FOUR HEADS to THREE RIVERS. Do not forget that GOD is placing before you how SIN developed and how SIN advanced, and how SIN progressed, and how SIN FLOODED the world with EVIL.

Now back to the four Ethiopian individuals documented in Scripture. These individuals are given to us not only to disclose the prophetical history of Ethiopia, but they also represent the downward flow of humanity from the heights of mankind’s origin descending into its lowest form of existence: beasthood.

◆
ZIPPORAH

Zipporah, the wife of Moses, has been used by many writers to push their own political agenda centered around a preconceived racism without any regard to biblical writings. This woman of Ethiopian heritage was black. She is mentioned three times in Scripture. She and her two sons (Gershom and Eliezer) by Moses are written into the narrative and history of Moses by the Holy Spirit of God for a specific purpose. They (Zipporah, Gershom and Eliezer) do not take on any significant LEADERSHIP role. She was one of seven daughters to Reuel (Raguel/Jethro) a Midianite priest called by this title of priest as Jethro. (Interesting, a man, a priest known by three names: Jethro, ‘a remnant,‘ and/or ‘excellent;‘ Raguel, ‘friend of God,’ Reuel, ‘tend to God.‘) In fact, Zipporah’s father, Reue/Raguel/Jethro, a Midianite priest, is placed into the narrative of Moses with more spiritual depth than Zipporah, Gershom or Eliezer. These three individuals appear, fulfill their purpose and then they disappear from the writings of Moses. But why was Zipporah mentioned three times? What was the Holy Spirit’s purpose to even introduce the wife of Moses into the Pentateuch?
Moses, as Abraham, saw the glory of God. Stephen in Acts 7:2 documents Abraham. And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran. Moses saw the glory of God evidenced in the Old Testament from the view of God’s passing by as from the BACK and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen , but Moses also spoke to the Lord Jesus Christ FACE TO FACE in the New Testament while on the mount of transfiguration.

● And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. (Exodus 33:18)
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. (Exodus 33:19)
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (Exodus 33:20)
And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: (Exodus 33:21)
And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: (Exodus 33:22)
And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. (Exodus 33:23)
● And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
● My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. (Numbers 12:7)
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? (Numbers 12:8)
● And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, (Deuteronomy 34:10)
● And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. (Matthew 17:3)
● And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. (Mark 9:4)
● And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: (Luke 9:30)

It was God who buried Moses. So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 34:5) And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. (Deuteronomy 34:6) It was Michael the archangel who was challenged by the devil (probably in physical combat) over the body of Moses. The devil desperately wanted the body of Moses, but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (Jude 1:9)

The spiritual history of Moses flows from Exodus 2:1 to Revelation 15:3, And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints. Moses was not only a Leader, and a Law Giver, but he came face to face with the Great I AM in the burning bush. Moses saw the glory of God pass him by from the back side of God in Exodus Chapter 33:23. Moses came face to face with the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as documented in Matthew 17:3, Mark 9:4, and Luke. 9:30. How fitting, that Christ IN God is seen in the Old Testament from the side of passing biblical history, and He is fully revealed to all in the New Testament in the face of Jesus Christ.
As God, through Michael the archangel, protected the body of Moses from the devil, He also protects the history of Moses from those who would twist the truth to advance themselves using lies, theories, and fanciful stories of ‘a black queen,’ or ‘a black princess,’ or ‘the power of a black woman behind a great man.’ The devil has many diversionary tactics to detract from GOD’S RIVER of truth.
Back to Zipporah. The first mention of Zipporah is in Exodus 2:21. Zipporah’s father gave one of his seven daughters to Moses as his wife. And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. (Exodus 2:21) The second mention takes place before Moses returned to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast [it] at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband [art] thou to me. (Exodus 4:25) This circumcision took place approximately 40 years after Moses first met Zipporah and her father Jethro in the land of Midian. The third and last mention of Zipporah is in Exodus 18:2, Then Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back.
Zipporah is documented as an Ethiopian woman twice in the same verse in Numbers 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. Her mother was never mentioned, and her father (Jethro) was never called an Ethiopian because he was NOT Ethiopian, he was a Midianite who dwelt in the land of Midian. Also notice that he was not called ‘a priest of Midian,’ but he is called the priest of Midian. There is a big difference between ‘a priest’ and ‘the priest.’

Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. (Exodus 2:15) Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew [water], and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. (Exodus 2:16)

Moses met his future wife by a well of water in the land of Midian. There is an immense background of research behind Zipporah, her father, and the land of Midian. Let us allow the Holy Spirit of God to guide us through this spiritual mine field. Let us stay focused on Zipporah (this Ethiopian woman). The name Zipporah means ‘a sparrow,’ and/or ‘a little bird.’ I immediately think of these verses in Psalm 84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, [even] thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God, and Psalm 102:7, I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. Although sparrows are socially inclined and gather in flocks, it is the independent or rejected sparrow that sits alone upon the house top. The sparrow actively searches for a home, a resting and nesting place. Interestingly Zipporah, ‘a sparrow,’ or ‘little bird,’ is one of seven daughters. (Notice that Scripture does not say ‘seven sisters,’ but seven daughters . . . details, details, details!) Although God does not name the other six daughters of Jethro, I wonder how this little sparrow bird was selected from his other six daughters to be given to Moses as his wife. Was it because she was the eldest? Scripture is full of the mysterious nature and interactions of mankind. The so called mysteries in Scripture is NOT about OUR Why’s or When’s or Where’s. It is ALL about what God has chosen that we, the seeker’s of truth, should know.

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. (Exodus 2:16)
And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. (Exodus 2:17)
And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day? (Exodus 2:18)
And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. (Exodus 2:19)
And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. (Exodus 2:20)
And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. (Exodus 2:21)
And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. (Exodus 2:22)

To summarize the timeline of Zipporah: Moses and Zipporah meet in Exodus Chapter 2. In Chapter 4, Moses is preparing to return to Egypt, and it is then that the LORD became angry with Moses when he hesitated and even questioned God for sending him back to Egypt after 40 years of exile in the wilderness of the land of Midian. But it was NOT the unbelief of Moses that angered God it was the refusal to obey the covenant of circumcision of the flesh that was given to Abraham in Chapter 17 of the book of Genesis. The following section takes us to God’s covenant of circumcision. Notice that God called it my covenant . . . This is my covenant . . . my covenant shall be in your flesh . . . my covenant.

● And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (Genesis 17:1)
● And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. (Genesis 17:9)
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. (Genesis 17:10)
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. (Genesis 17:11)
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. (Genesis 17:12)
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. (Genesis 17:13)
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. (Genesis 17:14)
● And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. (Genesis 17:23)
And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (Genesis 17:24)
And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. (Genesis 17:25)
In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. (Genesis 17:26)
And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. (Genesis 17:27)

This covenant of circumcision was NOT a light or minor ordinance. It was a COVENANT between God and all male children who came from the loins of Abraham. Then centuries later, in the age of Moses and his wife Zipporah, as memories fade, and faithfulness wanes, this covenant of circumcision had been ignored, but NOT FORGOTTEN. READ the following references, then stop at verses 20, 24, 25 and 26 and CAREFULLY READ, and RE-READ these four verses.

● And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. (Exodus 4:1)
● And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. (Exodus 4:10)
And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? (Exodus 4:11)
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. (Exodus 4:12)
And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. (Exodus 4:13)
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. (Exodus 4:14)
And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. (Exodus 4:15)
And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. (Exodus 4:16)
And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs. (Exodus 4:17)
And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. (Exodus 4:18)
And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life. (Exodus 4:19)
➤And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. (Exodus 4:20)
➤And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. (Exodus 4:24)
➤Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. (Exodus 4:25)
➤ So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. (Exodus 4:26)
And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. (Exodus 4:27)

The Holy Spirit of God through the pen of Moses discloses the reasons why the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses. First, the unbelief of Moses. Secondly, the reason why the LORD met him, and sought to kill him all centered around CIRCUMCISION. Notice, that although it was the responsibility of the MAN to perform the act of circumcision, it was Zipporah who took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet. WHY Zipporah and not Moses? And she cast it at the feet of Moses. Here is another thread linking us to Gihon, ‘the breaking forth.’ Gihon is the breach, the break, the division, the gap, the fracture from the river of God to the rivers of mans darkened soul. Zipporah was the reason why the son of her old age had NOT been circumcised. (Notice that Scripture is clear that this rupture between a wife and a husband was over the circumcision of her son. This was the second son born Eliezer . . . her son . . . NOT SONS. We never read where God had a problem with Gershom, the first son born to Moses over not being circumcised. The problem occurred as Moses was about to return to Egypt with his wife and his sons. (The life of Moses was divided into three sections: forty years in Egypt, forty years in the land of Midian as a shepherd caring for the flock of Jethro, and forty years leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. Therefore, at this point in Exodus Chapter 4, Moses was at the end of his forty year service to Jethro and a shepherd of sheep, and was about to enter into forty years of service to God as a shepherd of the nation of Israel.)

And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. (Exodus 4:24)
Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. (Exodus 4:25)
So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. (Exodus 4:26)

Twice Zipporah called Moses a bloody husband. Her anger was still seething from her first son (Gershom) being circumcised when she was a young wife. Now, almost forty years later, her anger had not abated. She had been AGAINST the covenant of circumcision from the beginning . . . A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. This accusation against her husband was not only meant for Moses, but she was calling God a bloody God. Speaking against the covenant of circumcision revealed her anger against God. SHE was the reason why the son of her old age had not been circumcised, therefore, GOD made sure that it was Zipporah who performed the rite of circumcision, and God placed the blame totally at the feet of Moses for his failure to uphold the covenant of circumcision. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. (Genesis 17:14) How could Moses be faithful to God in keeping God’s covenant to Abraham when he returned to Egypt to face a hostile nation, Egypt, and to take on the role of being the voice for God when he had not been faithful to fulfill his responsibility in the covenant of circumcision? We will deal with the covenant of circumcision later in the article, but for now, we will stay focused on Zipporah.

SIDE NOTE: The Covenant of Circumcision.
And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. (Acts 7:8) The covenant of circumcision was given specifically to Abraham documented in Genesis Chapter 17. In this covenant, God included he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. Even in this act of cutting the foreskin of the male child, God INCLUDED those not of the seed of Abraham: those BORN IN THE HOUSE, and even a STRANGER bought with money as a servant. All those who came under the rule and stewardship of those of the seed of Abraham were INCLUDED in the covenant of circumcision.
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (Genesis 17:1)
And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. (Genesis 17:2)
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, (Genesis 17:3) As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. (Genesis 17:4)
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. (Genesis 17:5)
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. (Genesis 17:6)
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. (Genesis 17:7)
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. (Genesis 17:8)
And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. (Genesis 17:9)
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. (Genesis 17:10)

And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. (Genesis 17:11)
And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. (Genesis 17:12)
He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. (Genesis 17:13)
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. (Genesis 17:14)
Through Genesis 26:5, we discover that even BEFORE the Law was given by the hand of Moses Abraham had obeyed the voice of God, kept God’s charge, His commandments and His statutes, and His laws. Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Through Hebrews 11:8 we discover that Abraham obeyed the voice of God, and kept God’s charge, and kept His commandments and statutes BECAUSE OF FAITH.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. (Hebrews 11:8)
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: (Hebrews 11:9)
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:10)
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (Hebrews 11:17)
The token of the covenant was the cutting of the flesh. A token is a symbol, a reminder, a memorial, a marker to commemorate and to honor an agreement. Thus, circumcision was set by God to be a daily unavoidable reminder to every male in the house of Abraham that God through this covenant promised that HE will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee . . . to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee . . . And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. There are two sides to this token, from God’s side: He WILL ESTABLISH, He WILL MAKE, He WILL GIVE, He WILL BE. From the other side, man’s side, Thou shalt keep my covenant. It was through FAITH that man could believe that God would accomplish His covenant. CLICK HERE to understand why all this was given in the 17th Chapter of Genesis.

Leaving the covenant of circumcision in Chapter 17 of Genesis behind, let us move onward to the New Testament to comprehend what the cutting of the flesh means for ALL those of FAITH.
Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. (1st Corinthians 7:18)
But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: (Galatians 2:3)
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. (Galatians 5:3)
As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. (Galatians 6:12)
For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. (Galatians 6:13)
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (Colossians 2:11)
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:29)
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. (Philippians 3:1)
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. (Philippians 3:2)
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:3)
In the covenant of circumcision, the flesh was the instrument of sin. God did not institute a covenant of mutilation. God detests self-mutilations. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:28) Rebellious man loves to draw attention to himself. Man’s hatred against his own body is really hatred against God who created man in the IMAGE OF GOD.
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. (Deuteronomy 10:16)
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench [it], because of the evil of your doings. (Jeremiah 4:4)
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: (Jeremiah 9:23)
But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:24)
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; (Jeremiah 9:25)
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart. (Jeremiah 9:26) ◆ End of Side Note: The Covenant of Circumcision

Back to Zipporah and her anger against Moses, Surely a bloody husband [art] thou to me . . . A bloody husband [thou art], because of the circumcision. This anger was directed AGAINST the LORD GOD because she understood that the covenant of the circumcision revealed the true condition of ALL of mankind that dwelt in the wilderness of sin and rebellion. That ALL are uncircumcised in the heart. Zipporah’s heart was uncircumcised, she was a child and a product of DARKNESS and TERROR, cut from the cloth of Cush, and formed from the curse of the serpent, and from the curse of Cain, and from the curse of Canaan.

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: (Genesis 3:14)
And now [art] thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; (Genesis 4:11)
And he said, Cursed [be] Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. (Genesis 9:25)
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. (Jeremiah 17:5)

We are at the timeline of the break between Zipporah and Moses, she did not continue on with her husband into Egypt, but she and her two sons were returned to her father Jethro. After Moses and Aaron had accomplished their mission of the GREAT EXODUS from Egypt, the Holy Spirit of God then again brings Zipporah into His narrative.

When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt; (Exodus 18:1)
Then Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, (Exodus 18:2)
And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: (Exodus 18:3)
And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh: (Exodus 18:4)
And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: (Exodus 18:5)
And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. (Exodus 18:6)

The breach (Gihon) between Moses and Zipporah appears to have been somewhat resolved by distance, but what does God have planned for this little angry sparrow? Zipporah is the connection between the Gentile priest of Midian (Jethro) and her husband Moses who was from the line of Levi, the future line of the earthly priesthood of God representing the ETERNAL PRIESTHOOD of Melchisedec. Moses was not assigned the role of priest over the nation of Israel. He was a mediator, he was a prophet, he was the voice for God in the camp, and he was The Commander, (sixteen verses document this phrase Moses commanded ) AND in Psalm 99:6 Moses is declared to be among His priests. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them. It was because of the (unseen) role of Zipporah as the daughter of Jethro (the Gentile priest of Midian) and as the wife of Moses that the priesthood is seen united together in Exodus 18:12 through a burnt offering, And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God.

And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent. (Exodus 18:7)
And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them. (Exodus 18:8)
And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. (Exodus 18:9)
And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. (Exodus 18:10)
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. (Exodus 18:11)
And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God. (Exodus 18:12)

The Holy Spirit of God specifically places the Gentile priest and Aaron, the earthly high priest of Israel together with the burnt offering and sacrifices for God. There is much in Exodus 18:12. It is historical leading back to Genesis Chapter 3, and it is also prophetical leading us to Revelation Chapter 5 where the Lamb (the burnt offering) is in the midst of the elders who typify the faithful in the Old Testament and the four and twenty elders who typify ALL the faithful saints in both the Old and New Testament.

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:5)
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. (Revelation 5:7)
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. (Revelation 5:8)
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; (Revelation 5:9)
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:10)

In Revelation 5:10 those who gather around the Lamb slain (The Burnt Offering) were made kings and priests together. God presents Israel as a kingdom of priests (a kingdom has a KING) and as a holy nation. Exodus 19:6 prophetically discloses the purpose in God forming Israel AND through 1st Peter 2:5and 6 the Spirit of God prophetically discloses the purpose of God in creating the sons of God, the chosen generation, the Bride of Christ, the Church. Do you see the reflection of the double priesthood in Exodus 18:12 prophetically in the light of the double priesthood in Revelation Chapter 5: one in the kingdom of priests and the holy nation of the children of Israel in Exodus 19:6, AND the other in a peculiar people, the faithful from the Gentiles called out of darkness to worship and sing the praises of The Burnt Offering.

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:6)
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1st Peter 2:5)
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1st Peter 2:9)

Two men united worshiping together around the greatness of God . . . the LORD is greater than all gods. Through verse 12 of Exodus Chapter 18, we have the phrase, Moses’ father in law twice. The witness to the UNSEEN role and position of the Ethiopian woman, the sparrow, the little bird as the bird that flies unseen over the lives of two men joining them together through priesthood, and through fatherhood. Two priests from two different worlds and from two separate backgrounds united together worshiping God through the SAME burnt offering and sacrifices. Zipporah, a woman from the land of DARKNESS and terror, represents SIN; Jethro, ‘a remnant,’ and/or ‘excellent;’ Raguel, ‘friend of God,‘ Reuel, ‘tend to God,’ the priest of Midian represents the priesthood of the faithful, a remnant, the friends of God, who tend to the things of God from the world of the Gentiles, a peculiar people; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God. Aaron, the high priest of Israel represents Melchisedec the High Priest of the UNSEEN sphere in the heavenly realm of God. The UNSEEN woman (Zipporah), and an earthly Gentile priest and the representative of the HIGHEST PRIEST in the realm of the Highest Himself ALL placed together for a purpose. Do you see it? It is the UNSEEN and the SEEN: the SEEN is in the PRIESTHOOD and the UNSEEN represents SIN that first become known in the heart of Eve (UNSEEN Eve and UNSEEN Zipporah).
Exodus 18:12 is a spiritual thread tying sin and priesthood together. It ties history and prophecy together. Through this one verse The Burnt Offering is the center piece that brings the faithful remnant together with the peculiar people in fellowship and communion around The Bread of Life in Jesus Christ. This one little verse also sets the UNSEEN before us in WHY the double priesthood is brought together, and WHY the Burnt Offering is the center piece and WHY is there a community of communion feeding from the Bread of Life? The answer is found in a woman NOT SEEN nor visibly present: Zipporah who typifies SIN and DARKNESS, and thus, we are transported back to Eve and SIN also neither visible nor seen in Exodus 18:12.
Sin was brought in through the deception of Eve, the wife of Adam. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (1st Timothy 2:14) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12) SIN was dealt with at the beginning by God Himself through the office of Melchisedec, when HE shed the blood of two innocent victims. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)These coats of skins covered the sin of Adam and Eve. What it cost God to slay two innocent lambs was so horrendous that the Holy Spirit COULD NOT use the words ‘blood’ or ‘sacrifice.’ The heart and soul of God endured a pain so intense that the Holy Spirit of God could only use the words coats of skins. This was the beginning of God’s redemptive plan for sinful man. The first blood shed to cover the sin of man was by God Himself, and it would be the blood of God Himself that would set man free from sin and death. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 30:28)
Through coats of skins, the first sacrifice on earth was performed by the heavenly Priest of the most High God possessor of heaven and earth, Melchisedec. The next time that we are faced with sacrifice is through the more excellent sacrifice of Abel. CLICK HERE for more about the excellent sacrifice.

● And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: (Genesis 4:4)
● By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4)

Abel OFFERED a more excellent sacrifice than Cain through the shedding of blood, and through the offering of the FAT (the substance that enriches the meat, that gives the meat its taste and its goodness) we have the priestly act of Abel. The FAT represented the GREAT GOODNESS and ABUNDANT RICHNESS that is WITHIN God Himself. The BLOOD AND THE FAT belonged to God and to God alone.

And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, (Leviticus 3:14)
And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. (Leviticus 3:15)
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD’S. (Leviticus 3:16)
It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood. (Leviticus 3:17)

The more excellent sacrifice of Abel took place BEFORE the Law and BEFORE the Levitical offerings and sacrifices and BEFORE the priesthood of Aaron and BEFORE the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Abel could be considered the first Gentile priest on earth, the first of the faithful who was declared righteous by God. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:23)
Again, let us consider three individuals: the UNSEEN woman Zipporah (Eve), Jethro the Gentile priest (Jethro, ‘a remnant,’ and/or ‘excellent;’ Raguel, ‘friend of God,’ Reuel, ‘tend to God,’ the priest of Midian represents the priesthood of the Gentile faithful); and Aaron (his name means ‘light bringer,‘ and/or ‘the enligthener‘) was a precursor of ONE to come NOT under the order of Aaron, but under the order of Melchisedec. The order of Aaron was structured around priests who through death passed their office onto others who followed. The order of Melchisedec was structured around everlasting life, an ETERNAL PRIEST through an ETERNAL PRIESTHOOD. Read all of Hebrews Chapter 7, the following verses were specifically selected to aid those who cannot read all of the Chapter.

If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? (Hebrews 7:11)
For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. (Hebrews 7:121)
And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, (Hebrews 7:15)
Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16)
For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews 7:17)
And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: (Hebrews 7:23)
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. (Hebrews 7:24)
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26)
Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. (Hebrews 7:27)
For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. (Hebrews 7:28)

Exodus 18:12 (And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God ) was centered around a time frame that supernaturally spanned from Genesis 3:21, to Abel Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them to Genesis 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering to Hebrews 11:4, By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh to Hebrews 7:26, For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.
It was because of SIN that the order of Aaron became part of God’s redemptive program, and through the order of Melchisedec SIN and DEATH were defeated at the cross of Calvary.
There is yet more to write about Zipporah, the sparrow or the little bird. Sometimes it is the little bird or the common sparrow that is successful as it flies spreading evil, sin, and seeds of unbelief. The eagle and the hawk are often linked to vicious attacks on the unsuspecting victims beneath, but sometimes it is the little bird, the little sparrow that can attack just as viciously as the eagle or the hawk simply because it is small and not as obvious as predatory birds. The little sparrow can carry the same seeds of unbelief and evil in its mouth as the largest bird of prey. It was Zipporah who not only rejected God’s covenant but she also failed to help strengthen her husband’s obedience to God’s covenant of circumcision, and it almost cost Moses his life.

● Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? (1st Corinthians 5:6)
● A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.(Galatians 5:9)
● Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines [have] tender grapes. (Song of Songs 2:15)
● Behold also the ships, which though [they be] so great, and [are] driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. (James 3:4)
● Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! (James 3:5)
● And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. (James 3:6)

The Holy Spirit of God sets another theme centered around Zipporah; however, she is NOT seen. The following has been selected to show through the last two verses in Numbers Chapter 11 where Israel was, and where they traveled to, geographically, spiritually and mentally. As you read, think on this, what has this to do with Zipporah? She was not even there when Chapter 12 was written. She is the UNSEEN in the SEEN narrative.
And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. (Numbers 11:34) The Holy Spirit through the names of where Israel camped discloses the spiritual condition of their hearts and minds. They lusted in Kibrothhattaavah, therefore, that location became noted as the graves of lust and/or longing. After Hazeroth they pitched in the wilderness of Paran. And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 12:16) Paran means ‘ornamental,’ as in to show off a beauty that is not real. Paran also has a primitive root of ‘to gleam,’ as in boasting of ‘self glorification.’ Why add this little bit of information? Israel went from one form of wilderness to another form of wilderness. They traveled from lusting and the graves of lust to the wilderness of vanity and smugness . . . the wilderness of Paran. Never forget that the Holy Spirit of God reveals much in names, in numbers, in colors and in locations.
And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth. (Numbers 11:35) Then God took them to Hazeroth which means ‘a court,’ as in a courtyard; or a place that is enclosed. It was at Hazeroth that God fenced them or confined them through His judgment against their jealousy and their envious animosity against His servant Moses. Where did this seed of jealousy spring from?

And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. (Numbers 12:1) READ the full 12th Chapter of Numbers. In the very first verse God presents three individuals: Miriam (the sister of Moses) and Aaron (the brother of Moses and the high priest of Israel) and the UNSEEN Zipporah, twice called the Ethiopian woman . . . Ethiopian woman. AND twice referenced as he had married . . . he had married. Although Zipporah was NOT even in the camp but had already departed with her father and her sons, her former presence was still deeply felt by those who were searching for a reason to remove Moses from his role as the voice of God in the camp. Notice the first person mentioned: MIRIAM. She was the instigator of the plot to deny Moses his place as Commander, Prophet, Leader, Mediator, and to remove him from being among the priesthood. Zipporah sought to control Moses through refusing the covenant of circumcision, and jealousy became rooted into the heart of Miriam. Zipporah exhibited manipulative control through the words that the Spirit of God used whenever she referred to Gershom and Eliezer as her sons. This at first may appear to be a small matter or even nitpicking, but consider the one who is speaking.

● Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast [it] at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband [art] thou to me. (Exodus 4:25)
● And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: (Exodus 18:5)
And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. (Exodus 18:6) The Spirit of God did not write, and thus Jethro did not say, thy wife, and thy two sons with her. Details, details, what can be seen in the smallest detail can become a HUGE ISSUE.

Now, back to Miriam and her jealousy of Moses. This was much more than a sister’s jealousy against a sibling. This was envy around the position of leadership. Exodus 15:20 informs that Miriam was a prophetess, and in the book of Micah 6:4 in the last mention of Miriam, she is part of a leadership team: Moses, Aaron, AND Miriam before the establishment of the order of Aaron in PRIESTHOOD. Miriam led the women . . . and ALL the women went out after her. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. (Exodus 15:20) For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. (Micah 6:4) READ the following verses.

And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Numbers 12:2)
(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) (Numbers 12:3)
And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. (Numbers 12:4)
And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. (Numbers 12:5)
And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. (Numbers 12:6)
My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. (Numbers 12:7)
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? (Numbers 12:8)
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. (Numbers 12:9)
And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. (Numbers 12:10)

Aaron looked upon Miriam in her state of leprosy, BUT God refused to look on SIN, therefore he departed, And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle. Not once but twice the Holy Spirit of God wrote in Numbers twelve that he departed . . . And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle. ICHABOD, The GLORY DEPARTED. God cannot look on sin, that is why the Lord Jesus Christ while on the cross of Calvary cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Three times the words My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me are documented. God the Father could not look on sin, God the Holy Spirit could not look on sin, and although God the Son was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, (2nd Corinthians 5:21) He ALSO roared within against SIN.

1. <<To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.>> My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou so] far from helping me, [and from] the words of my roaring? (Psalm 22:1)
2. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
3. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 16:34)

And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. (Numbers 12:11)
Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb. (Numbers 12:12)
And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. (Numbers 12:13)
And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. (Numbers 12:14)
And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. (Numbers 12:15)
And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 12:16)

Just another bit of trivia: Miriam is mentioned in 13 verses in 8 Chapters in 5 books. Thirteen, the number of evil; eight, the number of resurrection or new beginning; and five the number of grace. Scripture is written by God, it is not man made, but God made; and even through this piece of numerical trivia, we see the God’s message through numbers. Miriam’s leprosy occurred BEFORE The Law of the Leper was given by Moses to Israel. CLICK HERE for The Law of the Leper.
Back to Zipporah again, but this time to remind readers that Zipporah ‘the sparrow,’ ‘the little bird‘ typified the longest river in the world: SIN. Zipporah the Ethiopian woman typified Gihon as ‘the breaking forth,’ the breach, the rupture and the spreading of sin. She symbolized that the smallest bit of spiritual blackness and darkness can deeply infiltrate, influence and control the most important issues of the time. She symbolized that a small bird can be just as dangerous as a large bird. The smallest feathered bird can nest into the greatest spiritual houses of the ages. Many sparrows have built their nests with and into written parchments and thereby they soiled their own nest. In every new age of man, there is another soiled parchment, proclaimed as another NEW and BETTER translation, AND with each NEW and BETTER translation there is less truth, less conviction, less faith, less godly wisdom, less knowledge of the holy, and less understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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ZERAH

This section is titled ETHIOPIANS DOCUMENTED in SCRIPTURE therefore we will continue with the second Ethiopian mentioned in Scripture: Zerah. The name Zerah means ‘a rising.’ The name Zerah is also connected to three Israelites, and an Idumaean. The interesting thing about the name of Zerah is that there is another primitive root that adds ‘light‘ to the name as ‘a rising of light.’ The 14th Chapter of 2nd Chronicles is the only mention of the Ethiopian individual named Zerah. READ the following references.

So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. (2nd Chronicles 14:1)
And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: (2nd Chronicles 14:2)
For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: (2nd Chronicles 14:3)
And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. (2nd Chronicles 14:4)
Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. (2nd Chronicles 14:5)
And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest. (2nd Chronicles 14:6)
Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. (2nd Chronicles 14:7)
And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour. (2nd Chronicles 14:8)
And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. (2nd Chronicles 14:9)
Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. (2nd Chronicles 14:10)
And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. (2nd Chronicles 14:11)
So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. (2nd Chronicles 14:12)
And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil. (2nd Chronicles 14:13)
And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. (2nd Chronicles 14:14)
They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem. (2nd Chronicles 14:15)

This battle took place during the reign of Asa. CLICK HERE for more about Asa.

Little is known about the identity of Zerah, except that he was Ethiopian and had an immense military presence in the land of Judah. Remember that during the reign of Solomon’s son, the nation of Israel split into two distinct separate nations: the northern section with ten tribes was called Israel and the southern section of two tribes was called Judah. Asa was king of Judah. Mareshah was in Judah, of course. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah (2nd Chronicles 14:9). Mareshah means ‘summit,’ and/or ‘headship,’ as in a collective form of headship. Satan’s battle was always against the Lion of the Judah, the SUMMIT and the HEAD . . . the GODHEAD bodily . . . the Lord Jesus Christ.

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:5)
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. (Revelation 22:16)

Through the meaning of Mareshah we understand that this battle as ALL the battles of DARKNESS and TERROR (Ethiopia) are directly against the root and offspring of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. By the way, the national animal symbol for Ethiopia is the lion. Since the name of Zerah, is ‘a rising of light,’ that also is in contrast and in conflict with the Lord Jesus Christ who is called the light of the world. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12) Scripture never indicates Zerah’s position. He is not called a king, nor a prince, he simply appears as a military leader of a massive military force. In that Zerah resembles Lucifer. And of course, Lucifer’s coup against God was over HEADSHIP. Zerah as the second person mentioned as Ethiopian fits into the theme of Gihon, and also into the theme of Zipporah, the little sparrow spreading the seeds of darkness and sin through the longest river in the world. Understanding geography can become an aid to comprehend how the ancients and those of ages past traveled over hundreds and thousands of miles encumbered with weapons and the necessities of survival. From Ethiopia to Mareshah in Judah is roughly and approximately 1,593 miles as the crow flies, but not as the military crawls. Scripture is not concerned with Zerah’s travel plans, but common sense draws The Nile River into Zerah’s itinerary. Therefore, every thing that has been previously written about The Nile River comes into play with Zerah and his army.
The narrative of Zerah, the rising light, connects also to another ‘rising light,’ since Lucifer’s is called, son of the morning. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:12) There is an interesting primitive root in the name of Lucifer that adds to the meaning that goes beyond the thought of the SEEN and that is SOUND. Lucifer is not only seen as the rising of light as the son of the morning, (the brightness of the COLOR of the rising light), but through SOUND Lucifer can be also be HEARD . . . a ROARING lion. This brings in his animalistic personality as a roaring raging lion. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1st Peter 5:8)

As Zipporah was a physical and bodily example of the seed planting of conflict and sin into the faithful of God in the people of God in the land of God, so also, Zerah is presented to us as the military WAR of DARKNESS and TERROR against the faithful of God in the land of Judah. This military attack had been planned by Lucifer/Satan AGAINST JUDAH BEFORE the birth of Zerah, and BEFORE the birth of Asa. Nothing mankind does against God and His people comes as a surprise to God. Lucifer/Satan is not omnipresent, nor all knowing. Satan’s rebellious actions against God and the faithful of God, comes through his hatred for everything and anything that has the stamp of God’s approval. Where ever God plants His person, Satan plants his person. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 14:21)
Zerah’s goal was to become king of Judah, to overthrow Asa. Lucifer’s goal was to overthrow God and His righteous and holy heavenly kingdom. Satan’s goal is the same: to overthrow God’s Christ, and to overcome God’s faithful servants on earth. Zerah, was as a roaring lion attempting to devour Asa and the people of Judah by military means. The devil through Zipporah the Ethiopian (the little sparrow) attempted to control and influence Moses to cause him to become ineffectual for God, to redirect the path of Moses, thus affecting the exile of the people of Israel from Egypt, and consequently the order of Aaron and the priesthood would become null and void. The plans of Satan are not only accomplished through a roaring lion, but also through the soft chirp from a little sparrow. When that failed, Satan attempted to remove Moses and thus affect the priesthood and the order of Aaron through Miriam’s jealousy. Miriam’s name means ‘bitter,’ ‘their rebellion,’ and ‘rebelliousness.’
Zerah then enters into the Lucifer’s/Satan’s battle plan with a host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah (to war at the summit, to war at the headship). Scripture is a spiritual UNIVERSE continually expanding with the vibration and energy and rhythm of the SOUND of GOD through the power of The Word of God.

● Where the word of a king [is, there is] power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? (Ecclesiastes 8:4)
● And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. (Luke 4:32)
● Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3)
● And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. (Revelation 19:13)

Zerah had a host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. But Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour. Asa had three hundred thousand and two hundred and fourscore thousand, but NO chariots. I would say that the numbers were against Asa, Judah and Benjamin. But a greater than Zerah had also come to the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. There had been many battles previous to Asa and after Asa fought in valleys, but king Asa KNEW and BELIEVED that the enemies of Judah were ALSO the enemies of God. LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.
Every battle that was fought against the people of God in the Old Testament was always focused on GOD as the real target. Every battle in the New Testament has as its target THE GODHEAD Bodily. We often see that the battles that we are involved with as being OUR battles only, but when forces of evil attack us, it is because of the Holy One we serve. Sickness is an attack, personal and family distractions is an attack, lack of finances is an attack to keep us preoccupied with ourselves. Remember Job: he lost family, wealth, and health. Everything that comes against the faithful is a direct attack against the Author and Finisher of our Faith: the Lord Jesus Christ, The Word of God. In 1st Samuel 17:45, David understood that he was there on the battlefield facing the giant Goliath because he, David, came in the name of the LORD of hosts, and that it was GOD who Goliath really battled against. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. (1st Samuel 17:45)
After Asa, there was another battle facing king Jehoshaphat documented in 2nd Chronicles 20:15, AND at that time it was the Spirit of the LORD who reminded the people Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. We are to remain faithful in obedience to His WORD. We are to continue to hold on to what He has given us to do without wavering. Our battle is found in the writings of Timothy: the battle over the weapon of DOCTRINE. The same battle that Asa faced with spears, targets and bows is the same battle that we face at this time and in our age. It is the battle of weaponry. 2nd Chronicles Chapter 16,verses 7, 8 an 9 refers back to the battle of Zerah and the size of the Ethiopians and the Lubims. Notice that God adds the Lubims into the narrative of the battle of Zerah.

And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. (2nd Chronicles 16:7)
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. (2nd Chronicles 16:8)
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. (2nd Chronicles 16:9)

The battle of weaponry continues into our contemporary age. The King James Bible is the target for those who deny the Deity of Christ. What was once considered the SWORD of truth has been deliberately diminished into a dull pocketknife by those whose goal is to remove the knowledge of God from the hearts of the faithful.

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (2nd Corinthians 10:4)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2nd Corinthians 10:5)

Doctrines are the principals of holiness, the precepts of righteousness, and the soundness of truth filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The validity of Scripture is attacked. The principals within the word of God are denied. Think about this, Why is the King James Bible the ONLY Bible that is reviled and trashed? Why do Christians know little about the written word? Could it be that it is because they know little about The Living Word? Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. (1st Timothy 4:13) Why is it that more attention is given to attendance then to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine.

When Asa the king of Judah prospered, Asa BUILT: he built cities, fenced cities, but he failed to BUILD proper WEAPONRY to defend their fenced cities. Defense is only one part of a battle: offense is the other part. Carrying a sword is useless if one is not able to wield the sword properly.

As Asa failed, so also scores of contemporary nations have also failed. They have failed to build defensively AND offensively. Does this not compare to our secular age? Many member nations of N.A.T.O. have not taken their responsibility to protect their citizens seriously. Stealing monies and equipment from the United States through payoffs and bribery to United States politicians in order to bolster their welfare and social systems, these nations of N.A.T.O. have used their finances poorly and unlawfully. Where are their strong defenses and offenses? The U.S.A. is their ONLY defense and their ONLY offense. A TALKING offense and TALKING defense are not weapons. As a vacuous mind cannot hear the sound of truth, so talk cannot be heard in a vacuum. N.A.T.O. global powers fight more fiercely to hold on to financial support from the United States than they fight for the benefit and safety of their own citizens. Why does the Communist/Democrat/Uniparty Congress of the United States (financed and sponsored by the Communist/Democrat/Uniparty) seek to remove weapons from the hands of its citizens through unlawful laws? Because they have plans for YOU. Why does Satan continually attempt to remove the spiritual SWORD from the hands of the faithful? Because he has plans for YOU.
The secular battle of peace and survival revolves NOT around weaponry but around the source of money. The battle for control over the faithful of Christ revolves NOT around spiritual weaponry but around the source of money. The so-called church LOVES to BUILD more physical BUILDINGS, more walls (more programs), more towers (more celebrity personalities performing on church stages), more gates (more activities) and more bars (more Bible versions) to protect and enhance their BUILDINGS. They are not protecting, but they are causing their congregants to seek other forms of refuge and to rest in a false sense of peace in themselves. What is lacking are TRUE WEAPONS of spiritual warfare. What are the weapons of our spiritual war? The armory of the faithful is contained Chapter 6 of the book of Ephesians.

For all of their BUILDING of BUILDINGS, the BUILDERS have failed to BUILD in their congregations the understanding of how to properly handle and appreciate the written and Living WORD OF GOD. Confusion is brought into mixed congregations when they are constantly exhorted to be faithful to the doctrines of the church, which are the doctrines of the Nicolaitans, which GOD HATES. First comes DEEDS then church DOCTRINE is built on deeds, not on Scripture.

● So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. (Revelation 2:15)
● But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (Revelation 2:6)

Church goers know more about their church activities than they know about the GODHEAD Bodily. They know more about secular politics than the knowledge of the holy. BUILDERS are building on the wrong things. BUILD ON DOCTRINE. BUILDING ON the knowledge of the holy IS UNDERSTANDING. BUILD ON CHRIST. TEACH CHRIST. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. (Acts 5:42) Teach and preach the beauties of Christ, the perfections of Christ, the principles of Christ, the priesthood of Christ, the power of Christ, the Lordship of Christ, the Headship of Christ, the Sonship of Christ, the Kingship of Christ, the suffering of Christ, and the glory of Christ. There is NO end to Christ.
Servants of God do not need a building to serve God. A building cannot replace The Person because the message will become about the building and not about The Person. Why has the church failed? It has failed because it has sought its own glory. Christ is not taught. Christ is not known. Christ is not cared for; thus, the glory has departed and He is not even missed.
Asa understood that ALL power came from the LORD GOD, he also understood that victory came from the LORD GOD alone. Asa understood that NO man could prevail against the LORD GOD. And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. (2nd Chronicles 14:11) So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. (2nd Chronicles 14:12)
AND THE ETHIOPIANS FLED . . . and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD.
Sadly, although Asa and Judah were victorious over the Ethiopians, they failed to realize that although they had been victorious in that particular battle, the WAR was not over. One victorious battle won does not make a WAR won. Later, Baasha king of Israel built the city of Ramah to control all who attempted to travel into Judah. (2nd Chronicles 16:1). Asa then paid the king of Syria to break their league/ treaty with Israel, thus forcing Israel to withdraw from their southern border and to concentrate on their northern border. (2nd Chronicles 16:2, 3). Political backroom plots disclosed that although Asa had previously obeyed God, he really did not continue to trust in God as he had when the Ethiopians threatened Judah. The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. (1st Kings 15:23) Asa died with disease in his feet. Asa’s works were good, his words of following God were good, but his walk was not equal to his works or his words. Acts and words were one thing, but Asa did not walk the walk, so God removed him with disease in his feet. There are many spiritual lessons in the life of Asa: BUILD with the weapons from the armory of God. If you talk the talk, then you must walk the walk. BUILD on the things of the holy in the face of Jesus Christ and the enemy will not recover themselves. LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

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EBEDMELECH

Ebedmelech is the third person identified as an Ethiopian. Probably most seekers of truth have never heard of or have forgotten all about Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian. Ebedmelech means ‘servant of a king,‘ and/or ‘servant of the king.’ This Ethiopian is referenced SIX times through SIX verses in TWO Chapters in 1 book: FIVE times in Jeremiah Chapter 38, and ONE time in Jeremiah 39. These numbers may appear to the reader as unimportant, but there is an UNSEEN message written across the numbers. What I am about to suggest will not please most readers: READ Jeremiah Chapter 38 and Chapter 39. The following verses are selected to place Ebedmelech’s name forward. I again suggest READ the complete Chapters.
1. Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; (Jeremiah 38:7)
2. Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, (Jeremiah 38:8)
3. Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. (Jeremiah 38:10)
4. So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 38:11)
5. And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now [these] old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. (Jeremiah 38:12)
6. Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be [accomplished] in that day before thee. (Jeremiah 39:16)
As you take a minute to gather your strength and courage to READ two Chapters in the book of Jeremiah, allow me to remind you about the river Gihon and how God draws Ethiopia into the flow of Gihon. As Gihon has a dual meaning of ‘the breaking forth,’ and/or ‘a fountain;’ showing a fracturing away from God and a fountain flowing with the grace of God, so Ethiopia is also connected with being away from God and being the recipient of God’s grace. Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian eunuch, became the recipient of the grace of God. Through Ebedmelech God displays Gihon as the fountain of God’s grace. This eunuch descended from a people terrible from their beginning . . . the Cushites . . . and a people mixed with the blackness and terror of sin and war. But God has plans for Ethiopia. Ebedmelech is not only historical, but he is the proof of the prophetical yet to come. He is the evidence of God’s faithfulness, and of God’s promises to Ethiopia.

● Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. (Psalm 68:31)
● Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, [saying], Surely God [is] in thee; and [there is] none else, [there is] no God. (Isaiah 45:14)
● From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, [even] the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. (Zephaniah 3:10)
● In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion. (Isaiah 18:7)
● For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)

This Ethiopian eunuch (Ebedmelech) who had no hope in progeny, nor in any future blood lineage was in fact symbolic of a future hope for the land of his birth. He was the first Ethiopian presented as being of the faithful generation of God. Ebedmelech lived through the meaning of his name, he was ‘a servant of a king,’ and ‘a servant of the king.’ He was a servant of a king, king Zedekiah, and he was a servant of God, King over all the earth (Psalm 47:2), and the King of Israel (Isaiah 44:6; John 1:49) CLICK HERE to learn more about living in the meaning of your name.
Although a slave, Ebedmelech had great power. On his testimony alone, a king acted. On his words alone, the prophet Jeremiah lived. On his verbal validation alone God’s words were confirmed and accepted. This Ethiopian eunuch believed God and acted on the word of God. The men of renown in the court of Zedekiah didn’t believe the words of God through the prophet Jeremiah and they paid with their lives for their disbelief. King Zedekiah FEARED his own court, but this servant, this eunuch did not fear the court or a king, he feared his KING, his GOD. Now that the scene has been set for you, and the stage decorated, and the curtain moves slowly across time by UNSEEN hands . . . READ. OH, oh, I added Chapter 37 to your reading assignment. CLICK HERE for an outline of the kings of Israel and Judah.
Zedekiah was the last king of the nation of Judah. It was Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, who MADE him king in Judah. This Babylonian power structure had taken over ALL governments between the river and the sea. The 37th Chapter sets the background to the political end of the nation of Judah. Sometimes I do a lot of chewing for you, but this time, try chewing with the teeth of the Holy Spirit. If you just cannot endure to read your complete assignment, just don’t tell me, I’ll never know!

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Jeremiah Chapter 37

And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. (Jeremiah 37:1)
But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 37:2)
And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us. (Jeremiah 37:3)
Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. (Jeremiah 37:4)
Then Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 37:5)
Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, (Jeremiah 37:6)
Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. (Jeremiah 37:7)
And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. (Jeremiah 37:8)
Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. (Jeremiah 37:9)
For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire. (Jeremiah 37:10)
And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, (Jeremiah 37:11)
Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people. (Jeremiah 37:12)
And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. (Jeremiah 37:13)
Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. (Jeremiah 37:14)
Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. (Jeremiah 37:15)
When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; (Jeremiah 37:16)
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. (Jeremiah 37:17)
Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? (Jeremiah 37:18)
Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? (Jeremiah 37:19)
Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. (Jeremiah 37:20)
Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. (Jeremiah 37:21)
Jeremiah was incarcerated because he spoke the truth of the word of God, and by this truth, the princes, the ‘elites,’ the men of political renown accused Jeremiah of treason of working with the Chaldeans. However, the false prophets, the prophets of popularity and fame who had prophesied lies were nowhere to be found just before or during the battle. Jeremiah was committed to remain in prison for the sake of truth.

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Jeremiah Chapter 38

Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, (Jeremiah 38:1)
Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. (Jeremiah 38:2)
Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it. (Jeremiah 38:3)
Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. (Jeremiah 38:4)
Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. (Jeremiah 38:5)
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire. (Jeremiah 38:6)
➤ Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; (Jeremiah 38:7)
➤ Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, (Jeremiah 38:8)
➤ My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. (Jeremiah 38:9)
➤ Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. (Jeremiah 38:10)
➤ So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 38:11)
➤ And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. (Jeremiah 38:12)
➤ So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. (Jeremiah 38:13)
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. (Jeremiah 38:14)
Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? (Jeremiah 38:15
So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. (Jeremiah 38:16)
Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: (Jeremiah 38:17)
But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. (Jeremiah 38:18)
And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. (Jeremiah 38:19)
But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. (Jeremiah 38:20)
But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me: (Jeremiah 38:21)
And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. (Jeremiah 38:22)
So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire. (Jeremiah 38:23)
Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. (Jeremiah 38:24)
But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: (Jeremiah 38:25)
Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there. (Jeremiah 38:26)
Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived. (Jeremiah 38:27)
So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken. (Jeremiah 38:28)
Jeremiah 38:5 reveals that Zedekiah feared his own court. He KNEW that he had NO power, and that he was powerless to save Jeremiah, nor did he have any power to save himself. The truth of God had become unbearable to those who followed their own truths. Jeremiah was lifted up from the death of the dungeon by thirty men under the leadership of an Ethiopian eunuch. (The number thirty represents the price of redemption and it also represents God’s perfect order in being the right moment, the perfect moment.)
Zedekiah FEARED his court, he had enemies without, but the most deadly enemies were those within his court because they refused GOD and the TRUTH of God through the prophet of God. Jeremiah, through the word of God, gave Zedekiah a way out to survive, and that was to surrender to Babylon willingly. Chapter 39 reveals the end of Zedekiah, and the end of the nation of Judah.

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Jeremiah Chapter 39

➤ In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. (Jeremiah 39:1) Notice the numbers: ninth year (the number of finality in judgment), the tenth month (the number of God’s perfect ORDER.)
➤ And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. (Jeremiah 39:2) Jerusalem was under siege for TWO years. The Spirit of God adds more numbers to date the destruction of the great city of Jerusalem: in the eleventh year, the number eleven is the number of rebellion against God’s perfect order and in the fourth month, the number four is the number of the world and in the ninth day we have the number of finality in judgment. The siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar was in 587 B.C. God loves details, it is sad that many readers quickly glance over what God the Spirit reveals about the power of God in the details. Jerusalem was BROKEN UP, shattered, in the 11th year because of its mutinous refusal to acknowledge God’s perfect order from the mouth of the prophet of God. In the fourth month, and in the ninth day Jerusalem suffered its greatest tragedy up to that point in time and that was realized prophetically and historically in 70 A.D. by Titus, (approximately 40 years after the Lord’s crucifixion, 40 was the number of testing and trial). Jerusalem did not see its last destruction by Titus, but this great city will historically yet see their destruction on the NINTH day and prophetically will yet face God’s judgment through a second WOE and through a third WOE. In Revelation the second WOE against Jerusalem was so tragic that the Spirit of God could not call the city Jerusalem, but He spiritually referred to it as Sodom and Egypt.

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. (Revelation 11:8)
And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. (Revelation 11:13)

That NINTH day during the age of Jeremiah disclosed not only a future second WOE to come, but a third WOE yet to come during the Battle of Armageddon. At this time, not only will Jerusalem, the great city fall, but the cities of the nations will fall, and in this we see the depth and fulfillment of the number four and the number nine.

● The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. (Revelation 11:14)
● And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16)
● And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. (Revelation 16:18)
And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. (Revelation 16:19)

Consider the numbers of eleven, four and nine in Jeremiah 39:2 (3 – 9 – 2) and see the underlying voice of God in HIS TOTAL (3), JUDGMENT (9), and the WITNESS (2) of His power recorded in words and in numbers of Nebuchadrezzar’s hatred against this city. Now, read again Revelation 16:19, and see how the Spirit of God again records in words and in numbers how the power of God retaliates against great Babylon by His WRATH . . . to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. Consider where God’s FINAL ACT OF JUDGMENT against the great Babylon comes into play, for it is not only Babylon who will experience judgment but ALL the nations of the world will have their NINTH day, their NINTH hour, their NINTH month, and their NINTH year. This verse is found in the 16th Chapter in the 19th verse, And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. Consider these numbers (16:19). It is GOD (the number ONE) who judges mankind (6), it is GOD (the number ONE) who JUDGES (9) the cities of the nation, and great Babylon in His WRATH.
The Holy Spirit is the Master Wordsmith, and the Great Mathematician of numbers and the Superior Designer of patterns and primes revealing God’s purpose and plan to those who seek the truth. There is no end to His power in the art of communication.
➤ And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon. (Jeremiah 39:3) Six princes of the king of Babylon with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon sat in the MIDDLE gate. Again, we have the number six representing ALL of mankind, sitting in the MIDDLE gate, the central gate, the gate of power where they are acting as middlemen or ambassadors of the king of Babylon. Babylon was the showpiece of Satan. It was and IS Satan’s masterpiece, his jewel of political and religious success tied up in one package. The Beast is currently building his one world political power supported by his one world religion strengthened by the AI of all new and approved knowledge.
And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. (Jeremiah 39:4)
But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. (Jeremiah 39:5)
Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. (Jeremiah 39:6)
Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. (Jeremiah 39:7)
And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 39:8)
Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. (Jeremiah 39:9)
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. (Jeremiah 39:10)
Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, (Jeremiah 39:11)
Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. (Jeremiah 39:12)
So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes; (Jeremiah 39:13)
Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people. (Jeremiah 39:14)
➤ Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, (Jeremiah 39:15)
➤ Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. (Jeremiah 39:16)
➤ But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. (Jeremiah 39:17)
➤ For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 39:18) Ebedmelech had put his trust in God. An Ethiopian at that time and in that age could trust no one. He had no place of refuge. He had no where to run. He trusted in the only ONE who could deliver him from the ravages of sin and death. Ebedmelech chose wisely, he trusted in God alone. The name of the LORD [is] a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)
The last mention of an Ethiopian in the Old Testament revealed a person of faith. Although a eunuch, Ebedmelech was DELIVERED from his enemies and was added to the generation of Jesus Christ. He was one of many eunuchs in the house of king Zedekiah, but through FAITH in GOD Ebedmelech became a son of God, a part of the generation of Jesus Christ, a man with a holy family. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. (Isaiah 56:3) Again, the Holy Spirit discloses the grace of God offered to those of sinful mankind who join themselves to the LORD. What do the numbers of 56:3 say? Grace (the number 5) is given to man (the number 6) through the GODHEAD bodily (the number 3). ALL who gather to the LORD belong to God as the sons of God. Here is the other side of ultimate grace, to be called sons of God. (Job 38:7) The phrase sons of God is documented five times in the Old Testament (Genesis 6:2, 4; Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7) and six times in the New Testament (John 1:12; Romans 8:14, 19; Philippians 2:15; 1st John 3:1, 2) for a total of eleven times.
● When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7) CLICK HERE for more about Job 38:7. When did that happen? Where did that happen? And why did that happen? CLICK HERE for more.
● But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12)
● For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)
● Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1st John 3:1)
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1st John 3:2)
What a tremendous way to end the theme of Ethiopia in the Old Testament that the last person mentioned as Ethiopian would be a SON OF GOD. From being drawn from the waters of Gihon as DARKNESS and TERROR from the curse of Cush to a son of God made pure and clean by the water of life in Christ Jesus that proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1)

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An Unnamed Eunuch of Great Authority

The last mention of a man from Ethiopia is recorded in the New Testament in Acts Chapter 8, verse 27, And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship.
God the Holy Spirit presents the last mention of Ethiopia with this unnamed eunuch. Why is he unnamed? How does this relate to the river Gihon? Now again READ the following references.
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. (Acts 8:26)
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, (Acts 8:27)
Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. (Acts 8:28)
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. (Acts 8:29)
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? (Acts 8:30)
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:31)
The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: (Acts 8:32)
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. (Acts 8:33)
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? (Acts 8:34)
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. (Acts 8:35) PREACHED UNTO HIM JESUS.

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2)
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4)
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. (Isaiah 53:8)
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9)
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11)
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? (Acts 8:36)
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Acts 8:37)
And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. (Acts 8:38)
And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:39)
But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. (Acts 8:40)
This nameless Ethiopian experienced the POWER of GOD through the greatest inward revelation that every Christian has experienced: being born anew. Thus, he went on his way rejoicing. This Ethiopian is nameless because he typifies EVERYONE and ALL of the faithful regardless of color, background, ethnicity, status of birth, or even level of intelligence. He was a eunuch because he also typified ALL sinners as dry trees with the sentence of death within their bodies without hope of eternal life. Nothing more is written of this nameless eunuch. However, very little is known of the history of Ethiopia except that in the ancient world it was a great power. God named Ethiopia FIRST of all nations in Scripture. That alone should bear witness to the importance of this once great power house on the African continent. Historically, Ethiopia became noted as being one of the earliest Christian nation/states around 330 A.D. However, Scripture should be our only spiritual resource regarding man’s history. The Holy Spirit doesn’t set any age to the influence of Christianity, instead of age, the Holy Spirit discloses that one man, a nameless man, a eunuch with authority went on his way rejoicing because he had become a son of God. He had been born again. He had become one of many among the people of faith. From one man who went on his way rejoicing MANY heard the gospel of salvation. That dry tree had been made to flourish and so he went on his way rejoicing.
And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done [it]. (Ezekiel 17:24)
As Philip was the first evangelist (John 1:45,46) of seven evangelists (Acts 21:8), so this dry root, this nameless eunuch, became in a moment of time a vigorous man with the message of joy and salvation. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) That nameless eunuch understood that he as a dry tree had no hope, but because of THE root out of a dry ground ALL our iniquities were laid on him. And thus, and therefore, and consequently this message of Isaiah Chapter 53 was carried into Ethiopia by a man who had been a dry root but had become a flourishing root by the Spirit of God within.

This nameless Ethiopian not only carried the message of the gospel of salvation into the DARKNESS and TERROR of a land and people overcome with the spirit of Cush, but he also carried the message of the POWER of the Spirit of God. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:39) Immediately, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more. The Spirit of the Lord restored the soul of this Ethiopian, and to add to his joy of salvation, the POWER of the Spirit of the Lord revealed HIMSELF AS THE POWER. Great [is] our Lord, and of great power: his understanding [is] infinite. (Psalm 147:5) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6:10)
God sent this Ethiopian back to his nation not only bearing the gospel of salvation, but with the POWER of God in the gospel of salvation. This man of authority was sealed with the POWER of God. As Philip was immediately removed from the presence of this Ethiopian, that disappearance of Philip by God instilled into that man of authority the GREATNESS of God.
This eunuch inwardly experienced the POWER of God in salvation, and he SAW the evidence of the power of God outwardly when the Spirit of God instantaneously transported Philip away.
During the age of the birth of the Church in the book of Acts, many Old Testament evidences of the power of God were openly seen. As the old age passed away and a new age began, certain Old Testament supernatural happenings also passed away. Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2nd Corinthians 5:17) The Spirit of God was building a NEW age through a NEW covenant. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:13) CLICK HERE for more about this new age.
As John the Baptist was the last (UNACCEPTED) legitimate high priest to Israel, and the last Old Testament prophet, he symbolically represented the passing away of the Old in order to introduce and to present the new covenant. One of the tragedies that the newborn church faced and failed at was not understanding that they were the beginning of a totally new entity, a new era, a new creation that was NOT to be built on an old system of offerings, sacrifices, and ceremonial protocols. The Old Testament types of offerings and sacrifices were merely shadows of the substance to come. Therefore, as the New Covenant was the fulfillment and substance disclosed through the Old Covenant, there remained neither purpose nor reason to hold on to the shadows of the past. Deep in the shadows of the past lurked the seductive siren call of the law without FAITH. To obey the Law of Moses required FAITH in the LORD that He would fulfill His promises. Moses acted in faith BEFORE the Law, and he acted in FAITH through the Law knowing that the Law would be fulfilled in the ONE promised.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (Matthew 23:23) Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (Matthew 5:17)
The Law of Moses did not justify man, it condemned man, it revealed to man the depth of sin within ALL of mankind. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. (Galatians 3:11)
The judgment of the Law disclosed the harshness of man’s sin, and God’s JUDGMENT against that sin. The mercy of the Law disclosed that through sacrifices and offerings God provided a mercy seat for the sins of His nation Israel in the wilderness, and God provided a mercy seat, a sacrifice (The Burnt Offering) through the PERSON of Christ for sins. Christ was the SEAT of all MERCY, within HIM was the core of all mercy.
Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:25)
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world. (1st John 2:2)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. (1st John 4:10)
This nameless man had been in Jerusalem worshiping and was a witness to the greatest moment in the spiritual and secular history of mankind . . . THE ATONING SACRIFICE OF GOD and man’s role in his attempt to murder the Son of God. Man’s nature is to negate his responsibility; therefore, man accuses the Jew of the crucifixion of Christ, but standing next to those who cried Crucify him, crucify him were Gentiles. ALL became part of that great travesty against the Son of God from the highest in government to the lowest in government ALL gathered together AGAINST God. ALL of the people were part of that great hatred AGAINST God, Jews and Gentiles alike. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, (Acts 4:27)
Back to Ethiopia and the promises of God through the prophetic witness of God’s covenant to those who had been a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God in worship. She will present her heart to the LORD of hosts in worship in mount Zion . . . for there the glory of God will be seen through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ sitting on His earthly throne. This is the divine destiny of Ethiopia to be among God’s worshipers during the millennial reign of Christ in the holy city of Jerusalem.
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. (Zephaniah 3:10)
Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. (Psalm 68:31)
In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion. (Isaiah 18:7)

Copyright 2026, Mary Haigh
Posted on August 5, 2026 @ 1:40 PM (EST)
This article may be used, but not for gain.
Freely ye have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8e)
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible.

THE RIVERS – Part 6 – Gihon, Ethiopia, Zipporah, Zerah, Ebedmelech, and the Unnamed Eunuch –

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